Weston writer's Bette Davis play a hit in New York

Joe Meyers

Published 10:31 am, Thursday, October 3, 2013

Weston writer Elizabeth Fuller is co-starring in a New York revival of her 1993 play "Me and Jezebel" about the month in 1985 that screen legend Bette Davis spent as a guest in her home. Davis is being played by Kelly Moore.
Photo: Contributed Photo

Weston writer Elizabeth Fuller is co-starring in a New York revival...

A month that the star spent in Fuller's home during a 1985 Manhattan hotel strike became a book, "Me and Jezebel," that spawned a 1993 play of the same title that is enjoying another successful revival in New York City at the Snapple Theater Center.

Fuller revived the stage version of her book in her hometown last year, and then saw the property picked up by New York stage producers, who opened it off-Broadway in July to good reviews and strong business that keeps extending the run.

The continuing fascination with Davis -- who spent a decade living in Fairfield County -- has resulted in stagings of "Me and Jezebel" all over the world, from Prague in the Czech Republic to Sydney, Australia. At the moment, a production is running in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Davis came to stay at Fuller's house when a friend of a friend of the star's said Davis needed Connecticut lodgings due to the hotel strike. The longtime fan was thrilled to comply with the request, but began to regret her decision when Davis' visit extended well beyond the settlement of the strike (a situation reminiscent of a film the star did in the 1940s, "The Man Who Came to Dinner").

Fuller reported last week that she has been having a ball playing herself in the New York production and that actor Kelly Moore has been a terrific Bette Davis. Adding spice to the many productions of the play over the past two decades is the fact that Davis is generally played by a man who has specialized in doing impressions of the "All About Eve" star in drag.

Later this month, the producers will be holding a Bette Davis

lookalike contest that will be judged by the popular Sirius XM talk show host Frank DeCaro.

Shelton director Nancy Lessard, who has run the Park City Players in Bridgeport, dropped me a note last week saying that she will be doing another dinner theater show at Vazzano's Four Seasons in Stratford in December.

"It's something you don't see much anymore, but we think it's overdue for a revival," Lessard said of the dinner theater concept. At her June production of "True Love Doesn't Weight," Lessard's sister, the comedian Lisa Lampanelli, was a special guest.

Lessard will be conducting auditions for Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" on Sunday, Oct. 6, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Vazzano's.

The show will be produced in December, with rehearsals starting in early November. Lessard said auditioners should be prepared to sing, dance and possibly read for a leading role. They should also bring a current photo and resume. All ages are welcome to audition and any questions about the show and its available roles can be emailed to beanlessard@gmail.com.